Horrifying reason plane windows are round and not square
The reason why plane windows are round is pretty horrifying.
Although you've probably never given it much thought, you best count your lucky stars that have never been on a plane with square windows.
Watch below:
Advert
The horror began in 1945 when a plane from Rome took to London.
35 people were aboard the aircraft when it suddenly exploded in the sky and landed in the Mediterranean Sea.
A few months later, the same sort of incident took place with a plane on its way from London to Johannesburg.
The one thing both aircrafts had in common was that their windows had sharp squared-off corners.
So, The Telegraph did an investigation into the twin tragedies, and found that the square shape of the windows resulted in metal fatigue.
Specifically, the sharp corners would put more pressure on parts of the plane in high altitudes.
Once this investigation was published, airlines changed their designs to make their windows more circular, as this allows the stress on the metal to flow more evenly around the edges.
This action has saved millions of lives, as explained in a video published on the TikTok page Design Secrets.
"Man I learn more about life here on TikTok than in any other place," wrote one user, while another said: "Can't stress enough how smart this is."
While we're on the topic of aeroplane windows, what the hell is with that hole? I've never really understood why they're there, and I always freak out when I see frost appearing around it.
Former 747 pilot Harrison Murray explained: "Aeroplane windows are typically made of three pounds of (stretched) acrylic.
"You've got the outer, you've got the middle where that little hole is, and you've got the inner.
"Now when an aircraft starts gaining altitude, the outside air pressure is constantly decreasing.
"So we need to pressurise our planes. We typically cruise around with a cabin altitude of around 8,000 ft.
"Now the difference in air pressure between the inside of the plane and the outside world is very high.
"And that can cause the window to stress.
"So those little holes (bleed holes) allow the pressure between the inner window and the outer window to balance out."
The pilot's claims were backed up by the The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who previously also told Insider that the 'bleed hole' allows the air pressure to balance, as well as preventing the window from fogging up or frosting over.
Long story short, be grateful for not being on a plane in 1945.
Anish Vij